Wayward
by Queen Isolde
Summary: [Discontinued] [Post Tithe] Kaye's adventures continue as the upcoming Wayward reveals much more about her past, and...her true name? KayeRoiben. All RRers read AUTHOR'S NOTE on chapter four!
1. Prologue

**Wayward**

Disclaimer: Holly Black is mistress of Faery; I own nothing that pertains to the world she has created.

When I found out Valiant wasn't a sequel to Tithe, I was sort of let down. So poof went the plot bunny for me. This picks up a few months after the end of Tithe. There will be plenty of Kaye/Roiben fluff, but other faeries are also going to be making appearances. This is an ongoing, I've got the plot already laid out so…review if you'd like more.

**o O o**

**Prologue**

"_Whispering silk on flawless  
cheek,  
unruly, stubborn strand,  
falls teasing, tripping,  
charmingly,  
provokes my helpless hand."_

- Jesse Wilder, "Wayward Trees"

Time had taken on a meaningless aspect for Kaye. Yes, she had agreed to go to high school – something her grandmother would not budge on. But that was during the day. When she hid behind her glamour, when she pretended to care about the things they taught in school.

At night, Kaye's life was another story.

Ever since Roiben had become King of the Unseelie Court, Kaye had always seemed to have a knack for attracting attention. Not because of Roiben's secret visits to her in the night, but because of how many solitary fey knew that she was the reason they were able to have seven years of freedom.

Seven years. Three months had already gone by since then. The tricks on mortals had not stopped being played, though Roiben had made sure the fey kept their distance.

Kaye shed her glamour every night, as soon as she was sure no one but Corny would see. She'd only attempted to fly once, and that was at the Unseelie Court the night Roiben declared himself King. Corny had tried to get Kaye to fly again, but she refused every time.

"I would still kill to be a faery," Corny said wistfully one night. He and Kaye were sitting on the edge of the river, far enough away from the Thistlewitch so as not to disturb her.

Kaye rolled her eyes. "That joke's not so funny after what we went through just to stay alive," she pointed out.

Corny laughed. "True, true. And I'm just starting to get used to you being Kaye, the blonde Asian junior, by day, and Kaye, the green pixie who fooled an evil Court."

She shrugged off the compliment. "Yes, who fooled and pissed off the Court is more like it," she said, remembering the look of disgust in Silarial's eyes that night when she had killed Nephamael.

"Even if you did, it's made you famous," Corny said, a certain longing in his tone.

"And that's a good thing? Lutie hasen't talked to me since, and pranks are still being played on the mortal world," Kaye said exasperatedly.

"Well, it sort of is your fault," Corny grinned.

"Without a doubt." A voice from behind both of them made them jump. Kaye recognized the voice all to easily, and hoped that Corny's mouth wouldn't get him in to trouble.

Turning around, Kaye met green eyes, dimmed by her glamour. Her first reaction to Silarial was surprise. Why would the Queen of the Seelie Court venture out of the safety of her world and into Kaye's world of New Jersey?

Even with the glamour, Silarial had too much pride to hide some of her beauty. Her hair, now a dark brown, fell to her shoulders, her green eyes bright as ever, the same milky stone hung around her neck that Kaye knew all too well. Corny, fan as he was of the same sex, was drooling. He knew he was looking at the Seelie Queenv thatKaye had told him about.

"_Silarial_," Kaye whispered. Corny couldn't take his eyes off of the Queen.

"Leave us," Silarial commanded in a silky tone to Corny.

The gangly teenagerstumbled to his feet, and fled farther down the river, disappearing from sight. Kaye watched him leave, regretfully. Silarial was not a faery she wanted to be left alone with, especially with their past.

"Queen Silarial," Kaye did her best not to stare at the Seelie Queen's beauty, visible even beneath her glamour.

Silarial's gaze was assessing as she looked Kaye from head to toe as she continued to sit on the edge of the river, blonde and Asian, worn T-shirt, ripped jeans and all. Wind seemed to pick up around the riverbank, making the leaves of fall rustle in the night's silence.

"You are the pixie named Kaye, are you not?" The Seelie Queen asked in a short tone.

Was her glamour that effective? Couldn't be. She was just toying with her authority.

"Why does the Seelie Queen want to know?" Kaye asked defensively. Experience had taught her not to trust anyone in the Faery realm.

"The matter concerns all faeries. And since anyone in my Court refuses to venture into the mortal realms at this time, I am forced to relay a message that must get to the Unseelie Court before tomorrow." Her answer seemed planned, and it raised even more questions for Kaye.

"Don't your subjects obey you?" Kaye wondered if the Seelie Queen had lost power in her Court.

Silarial ignored her question and continued, her eyes narrowing. "Tell the King of the Unseelie Court that Wayward will be taking place in his Court this century," she directed.

Wayward? Kaye thought. What was that? Not another time where they would pick a mortal to become a human sacrifice, she hoped with a note of irony.

"Does Roiben refuse to speak to you?" Kaye asked, the smile forming itself untold to.

Siliarial's eyes glittered dangerously. "Make sure the Court is informed, or you can take my word for it, it will cost your friends' lives," the Seelie Queen warned.

Kaye recoiled. "_Your_ word? What does that mean to me?" She demanded of the Seelie Queen, her gaze traveling down to Silarial's necklace.

"Push your luck and it will dry up," Silarial said, her voice a scarce whisper before she eased back into the darkness of the night, and back into the realm of Faery.

Kaye sat there for a moment, wondering why Silarial would even leave her Court and visit Kaye in the first place. Then her thoughts traveled to what she had said. Wayward will take place in the Unseelie Court this century. A centurial event?

"Is she gone?"

Kaye turned at the sound of Corny's voice.

"She's gone," Kaye answered, a laugh escaping her. The awe in Corny's voice had not left yet. Corny walked out from behind a thicket of trees and walked over to Kaye, sitting down beside her again.

" I don't know why she would give a rip about delivering some message that she could've just given to one of her lap dogs," Kaye added.

Corny grinned. "Wasn't she Roiben's–" He stopped, remembering what Kaye had said about Silarial, and Roiben, and their past. Corny looked to Kaye, expecting a thwap in the shoulder.

Kaye simply shrugged. "It's fine. Just have to tell Roiben next time I see him about this Wayward thing," she said, "Though why she came to me..."

Corny's gaze was beyond the river, and settled on the forest, and its darkness. "Maybe she wanted to see you," Corny offered.

Kaye scoffed. "Why? I gave her enough excuses to kill me, losing her the Unseelie Court reign and making her look like a fool while at it," Corny laughed at this, "but she didn't do anything," she mused aloud. Why _had _Silarial come to Kaye?

"I don't know…maybe 'cause you stole her lover? That'd piss me off enough." He tempted with another grin.

"I guess," Kaye sighed.


	2. Chapter One

**Wayward**

I just finished _Valiant _and sad to say, I personally thought that _Tithe _was better. It isn't a sequel, though it does have a few appearances from our favorite characters from _Tithe_. It's pretty good.

A reviewer pointed out to me in the last chapter that Nephamael had killed Spike in Tithe, and I checked. He did, so a mistake on my part. I'll upload and replace the chapter minus the Spike reference as soon as I can. Kaye and Roiben fluff ahead, also some candid appearances by our own Ellen. Did anyone hate her in Tithe at all? The way she was written it was kind of hard for me to hate her, but I don't know. Ellen's had a hard life.

**o O o**

**Chapter One**

"_Yet there are pangs of keener wo,  
Of which the sufferers never speak,  
Nor to the world's cold pity show  
The tears that scald the cheek–"_

- William Cullen Bryant, "The Living Lost"

Kaye awoke the next day to the familiar white noise of her grandmother yelling at her to get moving so she wouldn't miss the bus. Pushing herself up off her undersized mattress, Kaye rubbed the sleep from her eyes and did her best not to gag at the awareness of just how much smoke was in the air in her grandmother's house. Ever since she had ruined her permanent glamour, Kaye couldn't smoke anymore. She figured that was a good thing, even if her mother offered her a cigarette more than once a day, with frequent scoldings from Kaye's grandmother.

"If you miss that bus, I have _no_ problem with personally dropping you off at your school in my blue bath robe and curlers!" Kaye heard her grandmother echo from the doorway of her room.

Why did she do this five days a week?

"I'm up, Grams," Kaye exclaimed groggily, making herself stand and losing her balance for a moment as her head swam to combine the multiple images of her grandmother together. Once she regained her equilibrium, Kaye she raised an eyebrow at her grandmother, "Since when do you use curlers?"

"Since this morning. Now, get dressed!" She chided with a wave of her hands towards Kaye. Her grandmother turned and left, Kaye letting out a long sigh of relief from the silence that followed that exit.

Kaye got moving, careful not to hit her wings on her bathroom door beneath her sweatshirt as she squeezed into the small space and in front of the water stained mirror. She had forgotten to wipe off the thick black eyeliner and mascara Corny had gotten her for her birthday a week ago. She didn't ask why he had gotten her make-up. The blond hair of her glamour looked bright against the pale color of her face.

She looked like crap.

"Just another day in the life of an average pixie," Kaye muttered to herself, trying to comb her mess of blond hair.

"Now, pixie, average is _certainly_ an insult," an all too familiar voice sounded near Kaye's ear from behind her, making a smile curl across her face as a shiver traveled up her spine.

Turning around, Kaye realized she was nearly a foot shorter than Roiben, not for the first time, but something that made her laugh at seven in the morning. His glamour still hadn't changed; hair that used to be silver was now a pallid shade of white, dressed from head to toe in black. Leather.

Kaye hadn't seen him for the last couple days, which he had tried to explain as business pertaining to evil fairy king work, but Kaye just shrugged it off each time. One look from Roiben…one kiss was enough for her to lose all and any form of thought. Today, however, Roiben did not seem like he came to visit just for pleasure. His eyes were darker than normal, and a new scratch occupied his left cheek, she noticed.

Kaye searched his face for a moment, before finally replying, "I don't think the rest of Faerie would mind me being average long enough for things to settle down." It was meant as a jest, but Roiben's eyes flashed even darker as his gaze flickered down. What wasn't he telling her?

**o O o**

Rath Roiben Rye had woken up that morning, relieved he had actually gotten sleep, but the good mood was soon foiled when his knew knight, Morwen, had informed him of the Unseelie Court's choice about the upcoming centurial event.

Wayward had not been something Roiben had gladly taken part in, though it only took place once every hundred years, it was a part of his duty to the old Unseelie Queen to participate in the games. He took pity on the prizes that had been traded around, the stakes that had been lost, awarded, or in some cases, sacrificed, as was tradition of Wayward.

This century, Roiben would have preferred not to have rebelled against Nicnevin so he would not have to be the one conducting the events.

"Did the Thistlewitch ever tell you about the Faery Games?" Roiben asked at last, though he doubted that a solitary fey that intended to overthrow Nicnevin would inform its only hope of such events.

Kaye bit her lip. "She never mentioned it…neither did Lutie," Kaye replied. Did she see annoyance in Roiben's eyes? "Why do you ask?"

This was his problem. Faeries didn't have hearts like humans did; they didn't feel the raw emotion that drove humans to either sanity or insanity in their world. It didn't matter what Court you belonged to. You never achieved true emotion. Faeries had feelings, but nowhere near as strong as human emotion. Kaye had grown up a human, but was a pixie at heart, and yet she had saved his life, saved her human friend Corny's life, freed the solitary fey…whether she knew it or not, she possessed human emotion.

And the problem? Roiben thought he had that emotion about Kaye. Or for Kaye. Or saw it in himself…about Kaye? He didn't know how to phrase it; he didn't even know what to call it.

_That_ was his problem. Because now he had to tell her that after surviving the ordeal of the Tithe, she would be roped into the realm of Faery yet again. She'd insisted on visiting the Unseelie Court, even some faeries still held a grudge against her for giving the solitary fey their freedom. No one would touch Kaye while she was under Roiben's protection.

And yet, every time Roiben thought something really _would_ happen to him if something happened to Kaye that he couldn't prevent…something bad, something that might hurt her.

That thought scared him.

Without warning, Roiben leaned down and took Kaye's face in his slender hands, kissing her, hoping that it would clear the doubts from her mind, if only for a little while. That was another problem. He felt something curl through him every time he kissed Kaye, through his veins, obliterating his thoughts…even when he thought about her.

What the hell had she done to him? Roiben mused, as he slowly pulled back from Kaye, a soft smile on his lips. "Just wondering," he replied, his voice deep.

Kaye was pleased with his answer, and the kiss, then nodded to his all black outfit. Navy, maybe? Or the color of the night sky, perhaps?

"You know, black never really was your color," she said with a grin.

Roiben welcomed the humour; glad to forget his burdens for the short while that he spent with Kaye.

**o O o**

"Where the _hell_ have you been?" Corny demanded as Kaye walked up to the gas station.

"Sleeping, you?" Kaye asked casually, used to Corny's bad mood in the morning. This had become her schedule. She would force herself to go to school, or risk moving back to New York, and every morning she would hitch a ride from Corny.

Again, why did she do this every morning? A voice prodded inside Kaye's mind. She pushed it aside. Corny's annoyed expression turned into one of drunken happiness so fast that it put Kaye off a little.

"A faery visited me last night," Corny said, his gaze distant, a grin still on his face.

Kaye tried her hardest not to laugh. Corny's preferences in hook-ups weren't always the smartest of choices. She surveyed his body: no scratches, gashes or slashes. So the faery must have just come to play with him. That sent an unwanted shiver down Kaye's spine. Faeries didn't just do those kinds of things without wanting something in return.

"Come on, lover boy, you're my ride and school starts in ten minutes," Kaye replied.

Corny snapped out of his reverie, and grinned at Kaye. "You, saying _those_ words…you're a pixie, are the heroine of the solitary fey and have the King of the Unseelie Court eating out of your hand, why do you even bother with school?" He asked, putting the gas pump in his hands back into the slot and walking over to his car, made entirely of fiberglass for Kaye's sake. Corny had found the car in a dump behind the station a few days ago, and Kaye was relieved when he told her what the frame was made of.

Kaye shrugged, and ignored the pinch in the hollow of her stomach as she followed Corny over to his car.

_You're a pixie…why do you even bother with school?_

Kaye didn't answer Corny as she stepped into the car, shutting the door behind her.

She didn't answer, because she didn't even know the answer.


	3. Chapter Two

**Wayward **

I am so sorry for not updating this sooner. But if you read my profile, I promise to update like crazy before life steps back into place and takes over again. And a big thanks to all my reviewers!

Thrilled to report that Ironside, a sequel to Tithe, will be out in 2007 by Ms. Black. Hopefully I'll get this up and done by then!

And, since Spike said the Tithe was during Samhain, and Samhain takes place on November 1st, this is going to take place sometime in early December. Also, let me know if Roiben felt too out of character last chapter. But at this point, I've got a better idea of the plot…I'll do my best not to get too distracted with faery fun and fluff. Also, there's a language warning in this chapter. That said…

**o O o**

**Recap**

_You're a pixie…why do you even bother with school?_

Kaye didn't answer Corny as she stepped into the car, shutting the door behind her.

She didn't answer, because she didn't even know the answer.

**o O o**

**Chapter Two**

"_A winning wave (deserving note)  
In the tempestuous petticoat:  
A careless shoe-string, in whose tie  
I see a wild civility."_

- Robert Herrick, "Delight in Disorder"

The history teacher's lecture blended into one big string of sound that made no sense to Kaye. Corny had offered to skip the rest of the day after lunch with her, but she had declined. Why had she done that? Kaye wanted to slap herself for not taking Corny up on his offer, even though she still couldn't answer that simple question.

She was a pixie, wasn't she?

Born one, at least, Kaye thought.

Really, though. What was keeping her in her desk? What was keeping her from raising her hand, getting called on, and telling the teacher that he was duller than a piece of bark on the side of the freeway? What stopped her from walking right out of the class and back to the cemetery, to the Unseelie Court, and to Roiben?

Nothing.

That was the answer, but even in Kaye's mind it didn't feel right.

Did she want to be here? In history class, getting told about events that happened over a hundred years ago, and that weren't even really _her_ history, since technically, she wasn't human.

The _click clack_ of something rolling up against one of her desk legs snapped Kaye out of her thoughts rather abruptly, her head shooting up with the break in the sound barrier that was the dead silence of the class as the teacher continued on with the lecture.

Kaye glanced down at her feet, and nearly jumped with relief at what she saw: familiarity.

An acorn, the size of a gumball, lay next to the metal desk leg. Reaching down, careful not to brush her hand up against the metal, she picked up the acorn and tucked it into her lap. She looked up, and out the windows that lined one side of the classroom, hoping to see Lutie fluttering by the window or a bush, waving at her.

Nothing.

The hall outside the classroom was empty; leaves still, grey clouds casting a dim hue over everything in sight. The last time she had gotten an acorn out of nowhere it had been a message from Spike and Lutie, saying that her childhood friend, Gristle, had been killed.

Well, she'd intended to avenge Gristle's death by killing the black knight that had taken his life, but that turned out to be her Rath Roiben Rye. And when Kaye had gotten her chance at an attempt to kill him, she'd demanded a kiss instead.

Kaye hated irony.

Sometimes.

Looking down, she popped off the top half of the acorn, just as she had before, until the two popped open with a soft _pck!_

Sure enough, there was a small piece of paper rolled up, stuffed inside. Carefully pulling it out of the grooves, Kaye unraveled the small scrap, glancing up only for a moment to make sure the teacher didn't pause at the first movement in the classroom in over half an hour. He hadn't even glanced over at Kaye, but continued to direct his voice to the entire class from his desk at the front of the room.

Wondering if something had happened to Lutie made her heart speed. She'd already lost Spike and Gristle, one to murder the other to sacrifice. She didn't want to lose her last childhood friend, even if that friend had lied to her since just a few months ago. Kaye read the scribbled message under her breath: "Tell your human friend to be careful whom he makes his friends. Remember to always hold your head high and your arms at your sides. LL&TW"

If ever there was a definition for confused, Kaye was it after reading that message. Her "human friend", Kaye hoped that meant someone other than Corny. She knew having Corny as a friend might put him in danger because of the enemies that Kaye had made with both Courts, but what else did Lutie know? And TW? The Thistlewitch?

The second thing Kaye noticed about the note was that it wasn't the same pinkish ink her last acorn-message had been written in. A chill ran down her spine when she realized it was blood. Dried blood.

_What the fuck is going on?_ Kaye demanded silently, though no one heard her. Something about the wording bothered her too.

Hadn't she already dealt with enough of this crap before? "I guess that's what I get for messing around with a Faery King," Kaye sighed. "A bad ass Faery King," she added with a grin.

Screw class, she resolved, even though this was her second to last period. Kaye stuffed the acorn and the paper into her jean pocket and stood. Surprisingly, the teacher did move to protest her leave.

"PMS," Kaye made up an excuse, and left the classroom.

**o O o**

The weather had chosen that afternoon to rain down on the New Jersey coast, letting Kaye inhale a mixture of metal, mud and rain scents, flooding her sense as she walked along the sidewalk towards the gas station where Corny worked.

It was still early enough so he might not have gone off in search of more entertaining company. Yet.

The thought made something inside Kaye twist. Not with excitement or anticipation, like it did when she was with Roiben, but with a strange sense of foreboding. She knew that faeries never did anything without a reason, or at least, the ones brave and devious enough to come into the mortal realm during such a hectic time. She hoped Corny didn't get hurt, especially since the blame would likely be hers.

She hated the Spider-man reality of it all.

Corny had been the one who helped her at first, when she had first de-glamoured herself by rolling around in clovers. Granted, he had been frightened and elated at the same time, asking Kaye endless questions that she didn't have the answers too. But he also didn't turn her in.

The rain was coming down harder now, and Kaye could feel the barely-there tingle of the acid in the rain. It was no surprise, as she lived in New Jersey, that their rain would be slightly acidic because of air pollution. Still, it bothered her even though she was fascinated by the different scents that made up the smell of the rain. But she couldn't describe them.

There was a striped awning attached to the Quick Check, just a few yards up ahead. Kaye hurried under the downpour of the rain, wrapping her jacket tighter around her shoulders, the tingle of rain on her glamoured skin a constant reminder of who she truly was.

Once under the awning, she almost regretted being so close to the blue Geo parked in the parking lot in front of the store; her glamour wasn't very strong today. Luckily, no one was around to question her being there before—

"Kaye?"

Kaye turned at the sound of the familiar voice: Kenny's.

"Hey," Kenny said blankly.

Before, she would have been wary of his presence, because of their history. But looking at him now, after everything that had happened to her in the past couple of months, she saw the little flaws she missed before. His nose was sharper than she remembered, and dark circles were under his eyes, a result of the partying nightlife he catered to. His hair was still that same cinnamon color, but now, Kaye noticed, it was slightly greasy.

It was a strange realization, but a welcomed one.

Kenny didn't affect her anymore.

"Hey," Kaye returned.

He seemed awkward, even though it had been some time since Kaye had made a public spectacle of him in front of the school. She still was disgusted with how childish that act had been, and how wrong it had felt to manipulate him like that, after the pleasure of her victory had worn off.

She wondered why he was even speaking to her. Didn't he think she was some sort of blond Asian freak?

It didn't seem like Kenny was going to speak, so Kaye decided to make the encounter somewhat useful.

"Have you seen Corny?" She asked. It was a lame question, but she didn't want to go all the way to the gas station if he wasn't there. She didn't want to go to his house either, because Janet wouldn't be there.

Kaye felt her throat tighten at the thought of her friend, but Kenny's voice stopped her from reliving that memory on the beach again.

"Marcus was at the station this morning, said he didn't see him there." Kenny seemed to be searching Kaye's expression for some reaction.

Kaye paused. Corny had given her a ride to school this morning. He had, so why did Marcus say he didn't see him? _Maybe he was in the store_, Kaye reasoned with herself, but she knew that wasn't true. Corny didn't manage the store; he worked the pumps during the graveyard shift last night. So he would have been there til the morning. It didn't make sense that Marcus hadn't seen him.

"Kaye? You all right?" Kenny asked, genuinely concerned.

Did she not look all right? If Corny hadn't been there this morning, then how could she know if it was really him or not? That thought startled Kaye—because she had talked to him, and he had acted like Corny, and sounded like Corny. He was Corny. She was sure. _Marcus must have been mistaken_, Kaye thought.

When she looked up again, Kenny was observing her with a concerned expression.

"I've got to go, catch you later," Kaye said, stepping back out into the rain, and ignoring Kenny's protests to give her a ride.

Again, and not for the first time that day, Kaye wondered what the hell was going on with her life.


	4. Chapter Three

**Wayward**

One reviewer (one of the most observant ones, too) pointed out that if Kaye had to save Corny's life again it would be retracting Tithe's plot. Well, Corny knows the hazard (or at least knows a little) of being Kaye's friend. She pissed off a lot of faeries both good and bad with her stunts in Tithe. But remember what Corny said at the end of Tithe—that he'd never be powerless again. _Ever_, no matter what it took.

That said, I'm building up to what's referenced in the summary for this fic. I also apologize once again for waiting two months to update this. That is hideously too long, even for how erratic my other updates have been.

I've also pondered starting a sequel to Valiant. The cast would include Val, Ravus (claro), Ravus's siblings, Ruth, Kaye, Roiben and more of those dauntless faeries we were introduced to at Seward Park, plus a very hairy and slimy plot in which Vravus shippers might hang me if I don't give them the ending they want. Let me know whatcha think?

End of the long author's note, because I know you guys wanna read chapter four…most of it's dialogue, and it is shorter, but I'm giving you KR fluff, so I think you'll forgive me ;)

A big thank you to all the reviewersfor getting me off my lazy arse and getting these scenes typed up!

**o O o**

**Recap**

If Corny hadn't been there this morning, then how could she know if it was really him or not? That thought startled Kaye—because she had talked to him, and he had acted like Corny, and sounded like Corny. He was Corny. She was sure.

When she looked up again, Kenny was observing her with a concerned expression.

"I've got to go, catch you later," Kaye said, stepping back out into the rain, and ignoring Kenny's protests to give her a ride.

Again, and not for the first time that day, Kaye wondered what the hell was going on with her life.

**o O o**

**Chapter Three**

"_Swift as a shadow, short as any dream."_

—"A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Kaye watched the sky turn from blue to periwinkle as the sun continued to sink beyond the horizon line. She didn't picture the sun's wrists bleeding into the water anymore. Now, if she had been at the shore, she envisioned a red shimmering mirror.

"How long can these moments last?" Kaye asked.

Roiben met the gaze of the sixteen-year-old pixie in his arms, and quirked a smile.

"So long as someone isn't plotting your unruly sacrifice," he said blandly, despite his amused expression. At times, Kaye could surprise him with how mature she could be, and other times…she was still a teenager. But she kept him guessing, and Roiben figured that was best, since he much preferred her surprises for him than the dangerous web he spun as King of the Unseelie Court.

Kaye twisted in Roiben's gentle but firm grasp, away from her bedroom window, and into liquid mercury eyes. They still made her catch her breath, even if she had seen them many times fore.

"That would ruin things," Kaye conceded, a smile forming at the corner of her lips.

Kaye really hadn't had any time alone with Roiben that was as quiet as that moment. Ellen was gone; probably in New York since Meow Factory had gotten their first major paying gig last week. Kaye's grandmother was out shopping for dinner; the left over Chinese was going on four days now. And there was her and Roiben, sitting on Kaye's poor excuse of a couch, trying to escape the surreality that had become their lives.

She had watched Roiben slip into a distracted expression more than once, though, and it worried her. When something could distract a king, it generally wasn't a good thing, unless that distraction was in the form of Kaye.

"_Has_ anyone tried plotting my death again?" Kaye asked Roiben, more seriously this time, not breaking his gaze.

Roiben seemed to waver in indecision for a moment, and let out a sigh finally.

"The Faerie Games," Roiben began.

That had jogged something in Kaye's memory, but she couldn't remember what. Though, anything that had 'faerie' and 'games' in the same sentence could not bode well. Faeries were deviant. Kaye shuddered at the thought of what kind of games they played. Hadn't she already been a pawn in the Tithe?

"It's a centurial event," he continued reluctantly. Roiben had done everything in his power to keep Kaye out of involvement with this. He didn't care if it was the manifestation of human emotions or something stronger, he didn't want anything hurting Kaye. Both Courts knew that enough not to touch her. But he couldn't protect her from Wayward—

"So our winged friends get to together every one hundred years and play poker?" It was meant as a joke, but Kaye saw the anger form in Roiben's eyes.

"It's no joke," he said coldly, pulling back from her.

Kaye was helpless in this situation. She had only just learned of her pixie self—how did Roiben expect her to know everything about the faerie tales Lutie, Spike and Gristle had told her as a girl?

"Then spit it out!"

Shehated how childish she was acting, but what loyalties did the King of the Unseelie Court have to her? This was who she was—a confused sixteen-year-old who was with a supposedly evil faerie King, living in New Jersey and on the brink of patience.

Roiben closed his eyes, took a calming breath, and sat down on the windowsill. His black garb contrasted with the bleakness of the walls and the now pitless night sky. Kaye stood waiting, feeling awkward, the annoyance already ebbing out of her nerves.

"You could compare it to poker, I suppose," Roiben said slowly, opening his eyes and locking gazes with Kaye. Her attention was undivided now. "But the poker chips are humans," he said grimly.

Kaye felt a chill trail done her spine.

She had only seen a fraction of faerie life uninterrupted, and even then, she had been in a trance.

"I'm sorry, Kaye." Roiben's tone was softer now.

Kaye looked up.

"What are you sorry? You haven't done anything." The statement was unsteady to her ears.

"I have to go." Roiben stood.

"Wait—" He cut her off with a kiss, one that vaporized any semblance of Kaye's thoughts, brief as it was, and he was gone swifter than wind.

Kaye stood there after he had left, heart fluttering, her lips still stung from his own, both annoyed and swept away at once with the action. Still breath taking, if not inconveniently timed.

"That's not fair," she called to the silence,smiling despite herself.

**o O o**

"Have you seen your mother?" Kaye's grandmother asked her as she walked into the kitchen.

Kaye's head was still mist and fog after Roiben's departure, but she managed a "No," for the woman, watching her grandmother fix her a dinner plate that consisted of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Kaye stopped herself from recoiling when she caught a whiff of the acid scent of the new dishwashing soap her grandmother had bought. The label didn't lie when it said natural, Kaye mused as she collapsed into a chair, letting the day sink into her.

"She's probably just late getting back from New York, then," Kaye's grandmother said distantly, as if trying to convince herself of the truth. "I didn't hear her come in yet."

_That's sweet_, Kaye thought, _she thinks Mom'll be back before midnight._

Kaye couldn't count on both ands how many times her mother had partied all night long, and ended up crashing at a guy's place she'd met at said party. Meow Factory would take care of Ellen—the members were all her mom's friends.

But the simple logic didn't rule out what Kaye had just learned about the Faerie Games. And it made her worry, even if Ellen not coming home 'til early in the morning _was_ routine.

"Mom'll be back," Kaye echoed her doubtful thoughts, a poor attempt to reassure her grandmother, and herself.

**o O o**

That night, it had taken Kaye two hours to fall asleep. She had paced in her room for a good few minutes, googled 'Faerie Games' enough times to make her head spin, and sat watching out her window, hoping her mom, Corny and everyone else she cared about would be okay.

The lady knight Morwen knew this, because she had watched the glamoured pixie untilthe knightwas sure no danger would threaten Kaye Fierch that night.


	5. Author's Note

**.:Author's Note:.**

Please read all readers/reviews–

I apologise for the horror that was chapter four, butI'm still leaving it up. I haven't decided whether or not to take it down and seriously take it under editing. I haverealised it's slight abruptness. It seemsas if I've lost my inspiration for this fic, but I do still have the plot with me (and hopefully more smoothly and dedicated future chapters) so don't give up on me just yet!

Suggestions, comments–and reviews ;)–would be great at the moment! I know that it took me months to update this, but I promise it's not over yet. Far from it actually, since I might be considering writing even a sequel (since I already have the last chapter of Wayward written). I know that's weird sequence, but sometimes that's how things work out for me.

I promise to keep working on this. If you've got any ideas let me know! I hope that once Ironside hits the shelves my muses will be replenished, but then again, I might end up re-writing this to fit that plot since I'm sure Ms. Black has a splendor of tricks still up her sleeve for us, lol!

So for now, Wayward shall remain at three chapters. Review if you want me to keep going with this. Reviews are what an author thrives upon :)

_**Cassie**_


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